London's top-flight share index saw a steep fall in its first few moments but later recovered as investors digested the result.

Financial markets have recovered their poise after an initial spell of turmoil when it became clear Donald Trump had won the US election.

US and European stock markets closed higher - defying pre-vote predictions of a massive sell-off with a Trump victory.

The FTSE 100 had a rollercoaster ride as it opened 145 points, or 2% lower, wiping £37bn off the value of top UK-listed companies following a rush for safe havens, like gold, in Asia overnight.

But it quickly recovered most of the losses and closed 1% or 68 points up at 6,911. It meant £17.3bn in value was added to London's premier share index in the session.

Image:The FTSE 100 fell sharply on opening before recovering

The turnaround was credited to Mr Trump's acceptance speech which eschewed some of the more confrontational rhetoric deployed during the campaign.

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Instead he put the emphasis on reuniting a divided America, putting millions back into work through large scale infrastructure projects and dealing fairly with other countries.

AJ Bell investment director Russ Mould said: "Futures markets had pointed to a plunge of as much as 4% (in Europe) but a conciliatory tone in the US President-elect's victory speech helped investors digest the shock result."

Like the FTSE 100, Germany's Dax and France's Cac 40 fell about 2% intially though later pared back losses to end the day 1.6% and 1.5% higher respectively.

How the US election hit markets overnight

Wall Street opened calmly despite some predictions ahead of voting of losses of up to 7% for the S&P 500.

The market was 0.2% lower in early trading before closing 1.1% higher in New York.

Among the biggest risers in London was Mexican gold and silver miner Fresnillo, benefiting from a rise in precious metal prices as well as the fall in the peso.

Drugs companies - which had been threatened with action by Hillary Clinton over steep price rises - also gained.

The US dollar saw large losses overnight against a basket of currencies before recovering.

Predicted market meltdown is Trumped

Sterling was up by a cent against the US dollar overnight at $1.25 though it later slipped back to under $1.2450.

The Mexican peso plummeted by as much as 13% to a record low. It was 8% down by Wednesday evening while Gold was just 0.7% higher after an initial 5% jump.

Market expectations of a looming US interest rate rise also grew as markets turned positive.

Kathleen Brooks, research director at City Index, said: "Considering the win for Trump hasn't been America's Brexit, the Fed does not need to refrain from hiking interest rates to supress market volatility and protect from stock market declines."

:: Watch every twist and turn of the US election fallout live on Sky News